If you wanted a true workhorse, of course you take Emmitt.
Not really that factual. Sanders had Lomas Brown who went to five Pro Bowls, a two time Pro Bowler in C Kevin Glover and a bunch of JAGs.
Pretty much. Barry was well on his way to shattering Payton's record despite playing behind an inferior line. Had they switched teams, Barry would have been even better (scary thought) and Emmitt worse. Not that we're complaining about the way things turned out.
Well, that's the biggest variable in this debate. Barry had battered-girlfriend syndrome with Detroit's OL, causing him to dance more than he would've like. Supposedly Barry with the Cowboys OL would've been a more straight-line hit the hole runner, producing less negative yardage runs with less dancing behind LOS trying to create/wait for a hole to open. You have to believe that this is true - less negative yardage runs with Dallas' OL.
I didn't consider Barry as a great runner in goal line situations myself. Again, he was at his best when he had plenty of open space and goal line formations are generally more compact unless you run a spread formation. I do think that Barry would have been more successful running behind Dallas' OL in those days than Emmitt would behind Detroit's but the Dallas OL in those days was truly dominant. Detroit's wasn't comprised of a bunch of schmucks but they were not at the level of the line in Dallas in those days.
When I hear someone say that I tell them to go look at the numbers of the other Cowboys RBs of that era.
I don't think anyone says that. We had some pretty pedestrian runners back up Emmitt in those years.
Yet few bitch about the "Awesome OL!!! Affect" with Terrell Davis. Didn't stop him from being a HOFer despite essentially 9 consecutive seasons of 1,000 yard backfields with Olandis Gary, Mike Anderson, Reuben Droughns, Selvin Young/Travis Henry and Tatum Bell following Davis' departure.
Cant refute Emmitt is the legitimate record holder (ahem, Strahan), but does this record make Emmitt the greatest of all-time?
Talk about an overrated RB... For me that's Davis. Not that people put him in that top-5 all time group or anything (that I've seen), but still. Like you said, he really was a system guy.
That's why I say you can't use strictly stats in a lot of cases when judging best ever at a position. In this case, it just so happens Emmitt has the most yards, but most yards doesn't always tell the whole story.
Is the greatest all time the RB one you'd want most in his prime for one season? Or is it a guy you want for his entire career most? I mean that's the real question. Other RBs have been more dominant when looking at it in terms of just one season. Emmitt tops the list because not only was he dominant but he carried it over the length of a long career for a RB.
Trust me PLENTY of people have said that. Not necessarily on this board, but on other message boards and during casual football conversations I've had throughout the years, there are people out there who seriously think that a guy like Derrick Lassic could have run for 1,300 yards behind Dallas' OL.
Yeah, I have run across that sentiment quite a few times, and it's still just as ridiculous.Trust me PLENTY of people have said that. Not necessarily on this board, but on other message boards and during casual football conversations I've had throughout the years, there are people out there who seriously think that a guy like Derrick Lassic could have run for 1,300 yards behind Dallas' OL.
I'm shocked you've never heard that. Maybe I just happen to attract the football idiots. Which could explain how I ended up on this board.
